Gas burner arrangement and hob comprising a gas burner arrangement

ABSTRACT

The invention relates to a gas burner arrangement comprising: —a gas burner ( 2 ) with at least three burner sections ( 2.1, 2.2, 2.3 ); —a gas tap ( 3 ) comprising at least one gas inlet ( 3.1 ) coupled with a gas supply line ( 4 ) and two gas outlets ( 3.2, 3.3 ); —a divider entity ( 5 ) comprising a divider inlet ( 5.1 ) and two or more divider outlets ( 5.2, 5.3 ); —an on/off valve ( 6 ) adapted to open/close a gas line; wherein a first burner section ( 2.1 ) is coupled with a first gas outlet ( 3.2 ) of the gas tap ( 3 ), wherein the second gas outlet ( 3.3 ) of the gas tap ( 3 ) is coupled with the divider inlet ( 5.1 ), wherein a first divider outlet ( 5.2 ) is coupled with a second burner section ( 2.2 ), wherein the second divider outlet ( 5.3 ) is at least indirectly coupled with an inlet ( 6.1 ) of the on/off valve ( 6 ) and the outlet ( 6.2 ) of the on/off valve ( 6 ) is coupled with the third burner section ( 2.3 ).

Generally, the present invention relates to the field of gas burners.More specifically, the present invention relates to a gas burnerarrangement with a gas burner with at least three burner sections and agas tap assembly for controlling the provision of gas to said flamesections.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Gas burners are well-known in prior art. Specifically, cooking hob gasburners are known which comprise an injection holder, a burner crown anda burner cap. Said burner crown and burner cap form a combustion gaschamber providing a mixture of gas and primary air to a flame ringcomprising a plurality of flame ports.

Gas burners are known which comprise two gas burner sections ofdifferent sizes, namely an inner burner section and an outer burnersection, wherein the outer burner is greater than the inner burner. Gasis provided to said burner sections using a dual gas tap, i.e. a gas tapwhich provides two gas outlets.

Disadvantageously, gas burners comprising more than two burner sectionscan not be supplied by a dual gas tap because of the limited number ofgas outlets.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

It, is an objective of the embodiments of the present invention toprovide a gas burner arrangement with a gas tap assembly which canselectively provide gas to a gas burner comprising three or more burnersections in a technically simple and cost-efficient manner. Theobjective is solved by the features of the independent claims. Preferredembodiments are given in the dependent claims. If not explicitlyindicated otherwise, embodiments of the invention and single features ofsaid embodiments can be freely combined with each other.

According to an aspect, the invention relates to a gas burnerarrangement. The arrangement comprises:

-   -   a gas burner with at least three burner sections;    -   a gas tap comprising at least one gas inlet coupled with a gas        supply line and two gas outlets;    -   a divider entity comprising a divider inlet and two or more        divider outlets; and    -   an on/off valve adapted to open/close a gas line.

A first burner section is coupled with a first gas outlet of the gastap. The second gas outlet of the gas tap is coupled with the dividerinlet. A first divider outlet is at least indirectly coupled with asecond burner section and the second divider outlet is coupled with aninlet of the on/off valve. The outlet of the on/off valve is coupledwith the third burner section.

Said gas burner arrangement is advantageous because a gas burner with atleast three burner sections can be selectively provided with gas usingstandard components, namely a dual gas tap, a divider entity and anon/off valve. Thereby a technically simple and cost-efficient solutionfor supplying gas to a multi-section gas burner is disclosed.

According to embodiments, the first gas outlet of the gas tap is asecondary gas outlet and the second gas outlet of the gas tap is a mainoutlet. Said main outlet my comprise a greater outlet cross-section thanthe secondary outlet. Thereby two or more burner sections can be coupledwith said main outlet.

According to embodiments, the gas tap comprises a safety valve coupledwith a flame control entity arranged at the gas burner. The flamecontrol entity may be adapted to monitor whether a flame is provided atone or more burner sections of the gas burner. For example, the flamecontrol entity may be a thermocouple. The flame control entity may beprovided at the inner burner section or between an inner and a middleburner section.

According to embodiments, the safety valve is adapted to shut off a gasconnection between the gas inlet and the gas outlets of the gas tapbased on information provided by the flame control entity. So, when theflame control entity indicates that there is no flame at the gas burner,the safety valve is closed. Thereby the provision of gas to the gasburner can be stopped if the flame at the gas burner is extinguished.

According to embodiments, the safety valve is a magnetic valve. Therebya control of the safety valve by means of a thermocouple can besimplified.

According to embodiments, the gas burner comprises multiple concentric,ring-shaped burner sections. Thereby, pieces of cookware comprisingdifferent sizes or diameters can be heated by one and the same gasburner.

According to embodiments, the first burner section is an inner burnersection, the second burner section is a middle burner section and thethird burner section is an outer burner section. Preferably, the gasburner assembly is configured such that the inner burner section can bepowered alone and together with one or more of said further burnersections but the middle and the outer burner section can only be poweredtogether with the inner burner section. Thereby the usability of the gasburner arrangement is simplified.

According to embodiments, the size of the burner sections increases fromthe first to the third burner section. Thus, the first burner sectionmay comprise the lowest heating power and the outer burner section mayprovide the greatest heating power.

According to embodiments, the first burner section is directly coupledwith the first gas outlet of the gas tap. Said first gas outlet may bethe primary outlet. Thereby the first burner section is activated as aprioritized burner section when the gas tap is opened.

According to embodiments, the second burner section is coupled via thedivider entity without passing the on/off valve with the second gasoutlet of the gas tap. Thereby, the second burner section is activated(specifically, together with the first burner section) if the second gasoutlet of the gas tap is opened.

According to embodiments, the third burner section is coupled via thedivider entity and the on/off valve with the second gas outlet of thegas tap. Thereby it is possible to control the third burner sectionindependently, i.e. the third burner section can be activated when thesecond burner section is active in order to provide highest heatingpower level at the gas burner or the third burner section is switchedoff in order to provide medium heating power level.

According to embodiments, the on/off valve is adapted to be controlledindependently from the gas tap. Said independent control can be providedby different control means provided at the gas tap and the on/off valve.

According to embodiments, the burner sections are integrated in a burnercrown or burner crown assembly of the gas burner. Said burner crownassembly may comprise multiple flame rings which can be superimposed orstacked in order to build said burner crown.

According to a further aspect, the invention refers to a gas hob with agas burner arrangement configured according to anyone of the precedingembodiments.

According to yet a further aspect, the invention relates to a method forcontrolling a gas burner with at least three burner sections using a gastap assembly comprising at least a gas tap with at least one gas inletand two gas outlets, a divider entity and an on/off-valve. The methodcomprises the steps of:

-   -   controlling a first and a second burner section of the gas        burner using control means of the gas tap; and    -   controlling the third burner section using control means of the        on/off-valve.

The terms “essentially”, “substantially” or “approximately” as used inthe invention means deviations from the exact value by +/−10%,Preferably by +/−5% and/or deviations in the form of changes that areinsignificant for the function.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The various aspects of the invention, including its particular featuresand advantages, will be readily understood from the following detaileddescription and the accompanying drawings, in which:

FIG. 1 shows a schematic functional diagram of a gas burner arrangementaccording to a first embodiment; and

FIG. 2 shows a schematic functional diagram of a gas burner arrangementaccording to a second embodiment.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

The present invention will now be described more fully with reference tothe accompanying drawings, in which example embodiments are shown.However, this invention should not be construed as limited to theembodiments set forth herein. Throughout the following descriptionsimilar reference numerals have been used to denote similar elements,parts, items or features, when applicable.

FIG. 1 illustrates a first embodiment of a gas burner arrangement 1. Thegas burner arrangement 1 comprises a gas burner 2 comprising multipleburner sections, in the present embodiment three burner sections 2.1,2.2, 2.3. The burner sections 2.1, 2.2, 2.3 are provided at a burnercrown 2 a, which may be a burner crown 2 a which can be disassembled inmultiple burner crown parts. More in detail, the burner sections 2.1,2.2, 2.3 may be formed by different sized flame rings which can besuperimposed or stacked on top of one another in order to build amulti-section burner crown 2 a. In order to provide gas to one or moreof said burner sections 2.1, 2.2, 2.3, a gas tap assembly is used, whichis described in the following in closer detail.

The gas tap assembly comprises a gas tap 3, a divider entity 5 and anon/off-valve 6. The gas tap 3 may be a dual gas tap comprising at leastone gas inlet 3.1 and two gas outlets 3.2, 3.3. The gas inlet 3.1 may becoupled with a gas supply line 4 which provides gas to the gas tap 3(e.g. from a gas bottle or a central gas supply line). The gas tap 3 maycomprise a control element (not shown in the figures). By actuating saidcontrol element a user is able to control the gas tap 3. According townexample, a user may be able to control whether gas is supplied to thefirst, to the second or both gas outlets 3.2, 3.3 or both gas outlets3.2, 3.3 are closed (i.e. switched off).

In addition, the gas tap 3 may comprise a safety valve 3.4 adapted toshut off the gas flow through the gas tap 3 if the flame at the gasburner 2 is extinguished. Said safety valve 3.4 may be, for example, amagnetic valve. In order to receive information if at least one burnersection provides a flame, the gas burner 2 may comprise at least oneflame control entity 2.5. Said flame control entity 2.5 may be, forexample, a thermocouple.

The first gas outlet 3.2 of the gas tap 3 is coupled, preferablydirectly coupled (i.e. without any intermediate entities) with a gasinlet of the gas burner 2 through which gas is provided to the firstburner section 2.1. So, in other words, the first burner section 2.1 isdirectly supplied with gas by the first gas outlet 3.2 of the gas tap 3.Said first gas outlet 3.2 may be, for example, a secondary outlet of thegas tap 3. Said secondary outlet may comprise a smaller outlet crosssection than the second gas outlet 3.3 which may be a main outlet.

As shown in FIG. 1 the second gas outlet 3.3 of the gas tab 3 is coupledwith a divider entity 5. Said divider entity 5 comprises a divider inlet5.1 and at least two divider outlets 5.2, 5.3. Said divider entity 5 maybe a passive entity providing a gas path splitting from a single gaspath to at least two gas paths. Said divider entity 5 may be, forexample, a T-splitter or Y-splitter. So, by means of said divider entity5, gas can be provided to two or more burner sections 2.2, 2.3 usingseparate gas pipes. In the present embodiment, the divider inlet 5.1 iscoupled, preferably directly coupled (i.e. without any intermediateentities) via a gas pipe with the second gas outlet 3.3. The firstdivider outlet 5.2 is coupled, preferably directly coupled (i.e. withoutany intermediate entities) via a gas pipe with a further burner section,e.g. the second burner section 2.2. The provision of gas to the secondburner section 2.2 can be controlled using control means included in thegas tap 3. If gas is provided at said second gas outlet 3.3, said gasflows via the divider entity 5 towards the second burner section 2.2 andis provided at the flame ports of said second burner section 2.2.

The second divider outlet 5.3 is coupled via said on/off valve 6 withyet a further burner section, e.g. the third burner section 2.3. Theinlet 6.1 of the on/off valve 6 is coupled with the second divideroutlet 5.3 of the divider entity 5 and the outlet 6.2 of the on/offvalve 6 is coupled, preferably directly coupled (i.e. without anyintermediate entities) with the third burner section 2.3. By means ofsaid on/off valve 6 it is possible to enable or disable a flow of gasfrom the divider entity 5 to the third burner section 2.3.

By means of upper-described gas burner assembly 1 the followingoperation modes may be possible:

-   -   providing gas to a single burner section, namely the first        burner section 2.1. Said first burner section 2.1 may be the        smallest burner section with the lowest heating power (e.g.        providing heating power in the range of approximately 0.3 KW to        1 KW);    -   providing gas to a pair of burner sections, namely the first and        the second burner section 2.1, 2.2. Said pair of burner sections        may provide heating power in the range of approximately 1 KW to        2.5 KW). The gas tab 3 may be configured such that gas can only        be provided at the second gas outlet 3.3 if gas is        simultaneously provided at the first gas outlet 3.2 (i.e. the        second burner section 2.2 can only be activated when also the        first burner section 2.1 is active);    -   providing gas to three burner sections 2.1, 2.2, 2.3 by opening        the on/off valve 6. Said triple of burner sections may provide        heating power in the range of approximately 1.6 KW to 4 KW). The        gas tab 3 may be configured such that gas can only be provided        at the second gas outlet 3.3 if gas is simultaneously provided        at the first gas outlet 3.2 (i.e. the third burner section 2.3        can only be activated when also the first and the second burner        sections 2.1, 2.2 are active).

FIG. 2 shows a further embodiment of a gas burner arrangement 1 whichcomprises more than three burner sections. In the present embodiment,the gas burner 2 comprises four burner sections 2.1, 2.2, 2.3, 2.4. Inthe following, the additional or differing features of the embodimentaccording to FIG. 2 with respect to the embodiment of FIG. 1 areexplained. Apart from that the features and the interaction of featuresdescribed before with respect to the embodiment of FIG. 1 do also applyto the embodiment of FIG. 2.

The main difference is that the second divider outlet 5.3 is notdirectly coupled with the on/off valve 6 but said second divider outlet5.3 is coupled with a further divider entity 7, namely the inlet 7.1 ofsaid further divider entity 7. Said further divider entity 7 may beconfigured identical or different to the divider entity 5. Said furtherdivider entity 7 is adapted to split the gas stream provided by thesecond divider outlet 5.3 in two or more partial gas streams. A firstpartial gas stream is provided at the first divider outlet 7.2 and asecond partial gas stream is provided at a second divider outlet 7.3.Both divider outlets 7.2, 7.3 are coupled via on/off valves 6, 8 withburner sections 2.3, 2.4, namely the first divider outlet 7.2 via on/offvalve 6 with the third burner section 2.3 and the second divider outlet7.3 via on/off valve 8 with the fourth burner section 2.4. On/off valves6, 8 can be controlled independently from each other and independentlyfrom the gas tap 3 in order to activate/deactivate the burner sections2.3, 2.4 independently.

Different to the upper-described embodiment according to FIG. 2, thepair of divider entities 5, 7 can be substituted by a single dividerentity which comprises three divider outlets. One of said outlets isdirectly coupled with a burner section and the other two outlets arecoupled with different burner sections via on/off valves.

It should be noted that the description and drawings merely illustratethe principles of the proposed gas burner arrangement. Those skilled inthe art will be able to implement various arrangements that, althoughnot explicitly described or shown herein, embody the principles of theinvention.

LIST OF REFERENCE NUMERALS

-   1 gas burner arrangement-   2 gas burner-   2 a burner crown-   2.1 first burner section-   2.2 second burner section-   2.3 third burner section-   2.4 fourth burner section-   2.5 flame control entity-   3 gas tap-   3.1 gas inlet-   3.2 first gas outlet-   3.3 second gas outlet-   3.4 safety valve-   4 gas supply line-   5 divider entity-   5.1 divider inlet-   5.2 first divider outlet-   5.3 second divider outlet-   6 on/off valve-   6.1 inlet-   6.2 outlet-   7 further divider entity-   7.1 inlet-   7.2 first divider outlet-   7.3 second divider outlet-   8 on/off valve

1. Gas burner arrangement comprising: a gas burner with at least threeburner sections; a gas tap comprising at least one gas inlet coupledwith a gas supply line and two gas outlets; a divider entity comprisinga divider inlet and two or more divider outlets; an on/off valve adaptedto open/close a gas line; wherein a first said burner section is coupledwith a first said gas outlet of the gas tap, wherein a second said gasoutlet of the gas tap is coupled with the divider inlet, wherein a firstsaid divider outlet is coupled with a second said burner section,wherein a second said divider outlet is at least indirectly coupled withan inlet of the on/off valve, and an outlet of the on/off valve iscoupled with a third said burner section.
 2. Gas burner arrangementaccording to claim 1, wherein the first gas outlet of the gas tap is asecondary gas outlet and the second gas outlet of the gas tap is a mainoutlet.
 3. Gas burner arrangement according to claim 1, wherein the gastap comprises a safety valve coupled with a flame control entityarranged at the gas burner.
 4. Gas burner arrangement according to claim2, wherein the safety valve is adapted to shut off a gas connectionbetween the gas inlet and the gas outlets of the gas tap based oninformation provided by the flame control entity.
 5. Gas burnerarrangement according to claim 3, wherein the safety valve is a magneticvalve.
 6. Gas burner arrangement according to claim 1, said burnersections being concentric, ring-shaped burner sections.
 7. Gas burnerarrangement according to claim 1, wherein the first burner section is aninner burner section, the second burner section is a middle burnersection and the third burner section is an outer burner section.
 8. Gasburner arrangement according to claim 7, wherein sizes of the burnersections increase from the first to the third burner section.
 9. Gasburner arrangement according to claim 1, wherein the first burnersection is directly coupled with the first gas outlet of the gas tap.10. Gas burner arrangement according to claim 1, wherein the secondburner section is coupled via the divider entity without passing theon/off valve with the second gas outlet of the gas tap.
 11. Gas burnerarrangement according to claim 1, wherein the third burner section iscoupled via the divider entity and the on/off valve with the second gasoutlet of the gas tap.
 12. Gas burner arrangement according to claim 1,wherein the on/off valve is adapted to be controlled independently fromthe gas tap.
 13. Gas burner arrangement according to claim 1, whereinthe burner sections are integrated in a burner crown or burner crownassembly of the gas burner.
 14. Cooking hob comprising the gas burnerarrangement according to claim
 1. 15. Method for controlling a gasburner with at least three burner sections using a gas tap assemblycomprising at least a gas tap with at least one gas inlet and two gasoutlets, a divider entity and an on/off-valve, the method comprising thesteps of: controlling first and second said burner sections of the gasburner using a control element of the gas tap; and controlling a thirdsaid burner section using a control element of the on/off-valve.